Behind the mask
by Lindsay teamedward
Summary: 6 friends spend the summer in New York city before senior year of college. They share laughs, adventures, and love. But what will happen when the summer comes to an end? Will any of their loves have lasted? Drama, Friendship, and Romance. AH
1. Prologue

My inspiration for this story:

**Don't be fooled by me. **

**Don't be fooled by the face I wear for I wear a mask, **

**a thousand masks, **

**masks that I'm afraid to take off, **

**and none of them is me.**

**Pretending is an art that's second nature with me, **

**but don't be fooled, for God's sake don't be fooled. **

**I give you the impression that I'm secure, **

**that all is sunny and unruffled with me, **

**within as well as without, **

**that confidence is my name and coolness my game, **

**that the water's calm and I'm in command and that I need no one, **

**but don't believe me.**

**My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask,**

**ever-varying and ever-concealing.**

**Beneath lies no complacence.**

**Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness.**

**But I hide this.**

**I don't want anybody to know it.**

**I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed. **

**That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind, **

**a nonchalant sophisticated facade, **

**to help me pretend, **

**to shield me from the glance that knows. **

**But such a glance is precisely my salvation, **

**my only hope, and I know it. **

**That is, if it's followed by acceptance, **

**if it's followed by love. **

**It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself, **

**from my own self-built prison walls, **

**from the barriers I so painstakingly erect. **

**It's the only thing that will assure me of what I can't assure myself, **

**that I'm really worth something.**

**But I don't tell you this.**

**I don't dare to, I'm afraid to.**

**I'm afraid your glance will not be followed by acceptance, **

**will not be followed by love. **

**I'm afraid you'll think less of me, **

**that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me. **

**I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing **

**and that you will see this and reject me. **

**So I play my game, my desperate pretending game,**

**with a facade of assurance without and a trembling child within.**

**So begins the glittering but empty parade of masks,**

**and my life becomes a front.**

**I tell you everything that's really nothing,**

**and nothing of what's everything,**

**of what's crying within me.**

**So when I'm going through my routine**

**do not be fooled by what I'm saying.**

**Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying, **

**what I'd like to be able to say, **

**what for survival I need to say, **

**but what I can't say.**

**I don't like hiding.**

**I don't like playing superficial phony games.**

**I want to stop playing them.**

**I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me **

**but you've got to help me. **

**You've got to hold out your hand **

**even when that's the last thing I seem to want. **

**Only you can wipe away from my eyes **

**the blank stare of the breathing dead. **

**Only you can call me into aliveness. **

**Each time you're kind, and gentle, and encouraging, **

**each time you try to understand because you really care, **

**my heart begins to grow wings-- **

**very small wings, **

**very feeble wings, **

**but wings! **

**With your power to touch me into feeling **

**you can breathe life into me. **

**I want you to know that. **

**I want you to know how important you are to me, **

**how you can be a creator--an honest-to-God creator-- **

**of the person that is me if you choose to.**

**You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble, **

**you alone can remove my mask, **

**you alone can release me from my shadow-world of panic,**

**from my lonely prison,**

**if you choose to.**

**Please choose to.**

**Do not pass me by.**

**It will not be easy for you.**

**A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls.**

**The nearer you approach to me the blinder I may strike back.**

**It's irrational, but despite what the books say about man**

**often I am irrational.**

**I fight against the very thing I cry out for.**

**But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls **

**and in this lies my hope. **

**Please try to beat down those walls**

**with firm hands but with gentle hands**

**for a child is very sensitive.**

**Who am I, you may wonder? **

**I am someone you know very well. **

**For I am every man you meet **

**and I am every woman you meet.**

_~ Charles C. Finn, September 1966_


	2. Summer is here

**Hey guys.**

**Don't worry, I haven't given up on my other story. Edward's Love For Bella will continue until I'm done or you tell me to stop (whichever comes first).**

**However, I got an idea for a new story. If I find it too hard to write both at the same time, then I'll finish ELFB first.**

**This story is about love, friendship, and a touch of mystery. All human and it may get out of character but oh well.**

**So you don't get confused, here is the jist of the character relations:**

**Alice, Emmet, Bella, Rosalie, and Jasper all know each other. **

**Edward only knows Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie.**

**Jasper and Rosalie are twins.**

**Emmet and Bella are siblings.**

**Edward and Alice are cousins.**

**It will eventually be E/B A/T and E/R so don't.**

**Am I paranoid? Why yes I am. But not to worry, I'm almost done. **

**I'm sorry if I say something that isn't accurate to the city. I put stores where I needed them to be, but I don't think I strayed too far.**

**The only thing left to say is...**

**ENJOY!**

Bella's POV

It was finally summer. The time of year to just sit back, relax, and have fun.

However, I was doing none of those things at the moment.

"Why are we doing this again?" I asked. I was undergoing another one of my best friends makeover sessions. She usually did these whenever we were going out to a party or some other gathering, but today I failed to see the reason.

"Bella, you can't go shopping in sweats. Especially when you go to a nice store." Alice chided. I just groaned. I loved Alice, but sometimes she got carried away.

"So I was thinking of checking out the city first. Esme mentioned some stores that might have some dresses. " Alice continued. Esme was Alice's aunt. Every summer Esme and her husband, Carlisle, threw a huge Masquerade Ball. Every year I tried to get out of it, and this year was no different.

"Alice, please. I'm not a big party person! You know that. Dresses and heels, and dancing! That just isn't my thing." I said. I knew I should just give up. If Alice wanted me to go, I would end up going.

"Come on Bella. You always end up having fun! Besides, you can't just ditch me and Rose. We haven't seen her since break!" Rosalie was the third person in our group of friends. I had met her and her brother Jasper at the ball last year. She was gorgeous but sometimes it seemed like she was trying to hide her looks. At first she had seemed a bit abrasive, but I had quickly learned that it was just a front she put up and she ended up fitting in with me and Alice perfectly. If she wasn't one of my best friends I would find her incredibly intimidating... now I just found her sort of intimidating.

"This year everybody is coming! Emmet is excited to go..." I cut her off.

"Please Alice. Emmet is only looking forward to seeing Rose and your only looking forward to seeing Jasper!" Alice frowned at my assumption, but I knew I was right. Jasper and Alice had hit it off great last year and so had my brother and Rose. None of them had seen each other all year since, besides Alice and I, everybody went to different colleges.

"That's only part of it. Besides, Edward is going to be there to. I can't wait for you to meet him!" Alice squealed. She had this insane idea that once Edward and I met we would be a perfect match. Edward usually stayed at school for the first month of summer to take various summer courses. This would be the first time that everybody would meet each other.

"Alice come on! If Edward is as amazing as you say, I'm sure he has a girlfriend."

"Bella listen. We are going shopping to find beautiful ball gowns and masks with Rose. We will have a lot of fun. You will let me spend ridiculous amounts of money on you." I groaned. The Cullens were very rich. It wasn't like I didn't have money, but compared to them I was poor. Alice held up a finger, "I'm not done Bella. You will let me buy you a beautiful gown. You will look beautiful." She gave me a stern look. "We will go to the ball and have a lot of fun. You will meet Edward and realize how perfect you two are for each other. I will dance the night away with Jasper, and Rose will do the same with Emmet. Ok?" She didn't give me time to answer, probably because she knew I would say no.

"Good. Now, get dressed and lets go!" She pranced across the room into her closet. I took my time getting up, glancing briefly at myself in the mirror. My hair was thrown across one shoulder in a loose heap of curls. Luckily, Alice had given me a natural look with barely any make-up. I headed over to the bed where Alice had left my outfit for the day. I would never get used to her picking out my clothing for me. Even when we were at school she did it. I pulled on the black skinny jeans and grabbed the red t-shirt off the bed.

"Where are my shoes?" I called out. My voice was muffled as I pulled the shirt over my head.

"Next to the bed." Alice said. She stepped out of the closet wearing a pink dress. It was simple but it looked amazing on her. She slid her feet into some flip-flops and I slid mine on my own feet. I grabbed my cell and wallet off the bed before heading out the door.

"Make sure you lock it!" I called out over my shoulder. I headed down the hall and hit the elevator button. Alice, Emmet and I were staying in an apartment building for the summer. It was her mom's from when she was in college. It was a beautiful apartment with 2 bedrooms and a huge living room. The living room had a gorgeous view of Central park.

With a ding the elevator door opened and I stepped inside with Alice hopping in as the doors shut.

"Jeez you could have held the doors." She said in mock anger.

"You were fine." We listened to the elevator music for a few minutes before I spoke up.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"Well I figured we could look on 5th avenue and see if they have anything. After that we are heading to Esme's apartment. She's going to have somebody bring over some dresses. Just think, by the end of the day we'll have gorgeous ball gowns and masks!" Alice squealed. I just laughed. Hopefully I would have time to sneak away to a book store or something.

"So when is Emmet arriving?" Alice asked.

"He should be here tonight. Maybe he'll be back at the room when we are done shopping." I knew better then to think we would be done before lunch time.

We nodded at the doorman before stepping out onto the sidewalk. It was surprisingly cool for summer and I was glad I was wearing pants.

"Damnit. Alice, do you have an extra pair of sunglasses?" I asked as I lifted my hand to block the sun.

"Of course." She handed me a pair, obviously designer, and we headed down the block.

Friday night and the lights are low

Looking out for the place to go

Where they play the right music, getting in the swing

You come in to look for a king

Anybody could be that guy

Night is young and the music's high

With a bit of rock music, everything is fine

You're in the mood for a dance

And when you get the chance...

Alice and I burst into laughter when we heard the song playing. I fished my cell phone out of my pocket as it continued to ring.

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen

Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life

See that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

"Hey Rose!" I answered still laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"The ring tone I have set for you is still Dancing Queen by Abba."

"Oh. Hahaha. From that party?"

"Yep. That was one fun night!" Rose had met up with Alice and me over our last break and we had gone to a party with some friends. None of us quite remembered that night but we know we ended up sing Dancing Queen in the pouring rain in the middle of the street.

"I'm in New York!" Rosalie said, interrupting my reminiscing. Alice held her hand out for the phone so I placed it in her hand.

"Rose! Hey...ya. So we'll meet you on 5th? Ya that's great! See you soon!" Alice quickly hung up the phone.

"We are going to meet her there." Alice announced. We started walking but it wasn't long before I was singing.

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on

Leave them burning and then you're gone

Looking out for another, anyone will do

You're in the mood for a dance

And when you get the chance...

By the time I hit the chorus Alice had joined me. We sang and skipped down the sidewalk. Summer was finally here.


	3. Rosalie

**Chapter two! Oh boy. **

**So music has been inspiring me a lot. So for chapters that have a definite song I'll post the lyrics. Last chapter the song was within the text:D**

**I'm not sure what the song is for this chapter. If you have any ideas let me know (Reviews or pms).**

**I love reviews so lay em on me. Any constructive criticism is welcome. Ideas are welcome too!**

Rosalie's POV

I hung up the phone laughing. I was so excited to see Bella and Alice again. We all just clicked. They didn't seem to care that I could be abrupt and cold at times. They seemed to understand that there was a lot about me that they didn't know...but maybe this summer I would be able to open up to them. I was actually surprised when Bella and I got along so well because we were so different. I laughed again as I recalled our meeting and how I met Emmet.

_Flash Back_

_I had just come down the stairs with Jasper when I saw him. He was gorgeous and muscular. I hadn't ever seen him before but he was standing next to Edward's cousin Alice. I hadn't met her before but I had seen her in pictures. _

"_Come on." I said as I pulled Jasper along behind me._

_Just as we reached them another girl appeared. She was beautiful. She wasn't beautiful like me, she was beautiful in a less obvious way. She whispered something to the hot guy and he laughed. She better not be his girlfriend._

"_Hi. I'm Rosalie Hale and this is my twin brother Jasper. You're Edward's cousin Alice right?" I asked the pixy girl._

_She smiled a huge smile. "I am. It's so nice to finally meet you!" She squealed. She wrapped her arms around me for a hug. I laughed and hugged her back._

"_Oh. This is Emmet and Bella Swan." Alice said. She gestured to the people beside her. _

_I smiled. They were related._

"_It's a pleasure." I said shaking their hands. I noticed Emmet was gaping at me. I smiled to myself. _

_Bella elbowed Emmet before speaking up. "It's nice to meet you. Though I feel like I'm not really meeting you." She motioned towards our masks. I had forgotten all about them. None of us could really see the others face._

"_I know what you mean." We continued to talk a bit before we realized that Emmet, Jasper, and Alice were gone. We located Alice and Jasper on the dance floor but we didn't see Emmet._

"_Oh crud." Bella said. _

"_I'm sure he's somewhere." I replied._

_She frowned. "That's the problem. Emmet tends to be a bit mischievous."_

_That's when we heard a big crash. _

_We turned towards the noise and found one of the huge flower arrangements had fallen over. Standing next to it was Emmet with a single lilly in his hand. His face was bright red. I heard Bella swear under her breath. We marched over to him._

"_So what's your excuse?" Bella asked. She was clearly upset. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme walking over._

"_I wanted to get Rosalie a flower." Emmet said sheepishly._

_I felt myself blush. He was so sweet._

"_Emmet." I whispered. I took the lilly from his hand and kissed his cheek._

"_Thank you." I whispered in his ear. He got this huge goofy grin on his face. That's when I knew we would get along great._

_Bella and I became fast friends when she realized I could keep Emmet in check even better than her._

_End Flash Back_

Yes, I was definitely excited to see them.

Just then my cell phone started to ring so I quickly flipped it open.

"'ello?"

"What, are you in Australia?" The voice replied.

"Oh hey Jaz."

"Hey. What time do you think I should meet up with Emmet?" He asked.

"Is Edward getting ready with you guys?"

"Nah. I'm not sure what he is doing. So what time?"

"Well aren't you a big boy." He just laughed.

"Well we have to be there at seven so like five thirty." I answered.

"We aren't girls Rose."

"Fine six, but don't be late."

"Promise. Love you. "

"You too. Later."

I snapped the phone shut as I reached the store. The window was full of different ball gowns; maybe we would find something here.

I opened the door and stepped inside. I ran my hand through my hair and headed over to a bench to wait for Alice and Bella. I passed a mirror on the way and stopped briefly to check my self out. My blonde hair hung in ringlets down my back. I wore a red summer dress and black flips-flops. I looked hot.

"Can I help you miss?" A sales woman spoke up from behind me. I turned and flashed her a smile.

"No thank you. I'm waiting for some friends."

I heard the door open followed by the bell that it triggered. I turned to see who came in and a huge smile broke out on my face.


	4. Beads and Frill

**Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. Unlike many people, I tend to do more writing when we are not on school break. I spend my breaks reading a lot. So that's what I have been doing, reading. I've been reading some fan-fiction and I've gotten some more ideas for my own story. **

**I would love it if you guys could send me info on songs you think should be in the story. **

**REVIEW :D**

**This song doesn't really have a song, but let me know if you find one that fits. I was inspired by songs mostly in the chapters to come.**

**That's all.**

Alice's POV

"Here we are!" I announced. I swung open the door and was hit with a blast of air conditioning. First I heard the bell announcing our arrival, and then I heard Rosalie.

"Hey Alice!!" She squealed. She raced over and threw her arms around me.

"Rosalie!!" I replied with as much enthusiasm as she had. I quickly looked her up and down. "Rose you look amazing! I love that dress! It is so great to see you!" The words left my mouth in a huge rush but I knew she would understand me.

"Ditto. You look hot." Rosalie said. We heard a throat clear behind me.

"I'd like to get in the store sometime today," Bella teased.

"Bella!" Rosalie pulled me further into the store before sliding past me to get to Bella.

"Damn Bells. Did Alice dress you?" She asked. Bella scowled but I laughed.

"Of course Rose, now, let's get shopping!" With that store employees ready to help us surrounded us. I smiled at the service we were getting. These people knew we were rich just by looking at us. They would probably do anything for us as long as we bought some clothing. I took a quick glance around the store. It was small but still nice. Most of the dresses were probably in a back room.

"We are looking for ball gowns," I announced to as I led my friends towards the dressing rooms.

"We will bring you our best dresses." An employee replied. She quickly departed, as did the rest of the workers.

I looked over and saw that Rosalie had a mischievous grin on her face.

She turned to me, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She gestured towards the staff. I nodded my head vigorously.

"Bella, we're going to have a little fun. Just follow our lead. If you find a dress you like, show it to us. Let's begin!" Bella only nodded before she started to look through the racks of dresses that were beginning to arrive.

I started searching the racks, pulling out anything that look good. I saw that Rose and Bella already had a couple of dresses.

"Let's try some on." I said.

We went into a huge dressing room that could fit the three of us. After we were all zipped up we examined each other. Rose was wearing a red, off the shoulders, ball gown that did nothing for her figure. Bella was wearing a green dress that had way too many ruffles. I wore a blue strapless gown that made me look five inches tall. We all burst into laughter.

"I guess we should keep looking." I said between fits of laughter. We unzipped each other and Bella went to open the door.

"No wait." I pulled her away from the door. I gave Rosalie a quick wink before throwing my dress over the door. Rosalie stifled her laughter and threw her own dress over. Bella looked shocked but quickly shook her head at us before throwing her own dress over.

We heard mumbled curses and then we broke into fits of giggling, trying to be as quiet as we could. Rosalie quickly recovered and sauntered out the door. I heard an employee gasp at the sight of Rosalie in only her underwear and bra. Bella's eyes were huge as she backed away from me.

"I am not going out there without clothing on," she hissed.

"Oh yes you are," I grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the dressing room. I grinned widely at my accomplishment. I was a strong little pixie.

I was skimming a rack when I heard Rosalie squeal.

"I found it!"

Bella and I were by her side in a flash to examine the dress she had found.

I immediately knew she was right. It was a green strapless a-line gown with crystal beading along the neckline. There were some jewels holding some fabric together towards the middle as well. **(Link on profile)** I could imagine the dress on Rosalie easily, and boy did she look good.

"Come on," she said as she stepped into it, "zip me up."

Bella quickly zipped Rosalie into the dress and I gasped.

"Rose you look amazing." I stated.

"I completely agree." Bella added.

"I'm getting it."

Rosalie took her dress to the cashier while Bella and I continued to look.

"Alice I found one for you!" Rosalie said. I nearly had a heart attack when she spoke.

"Jeez Rose! You scared the shit out of me. I didn't realize you were done paying." She laughed and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. I took the dress from her hands and eyed it carefully before putting it on.

It was orange, frilly, poofy, and so not what I was looking for.

"Rosalie what," I was cut off by a flash. I turned to see Bella with her phone out taking pictures.

"You look like a pumpkin!" Rosalie howled.

"I feel like one too." I muttered. Rosalie finally unzipped me and I nearly tossed the dress into an employee nearby.

Bella had put her phone away and was now eyeing a red gown.

"Just try it on!" I marched over and grabbed the dress. I held it out to her and she sighed and took it. Rosalie zipped her up and once again I gasped.

The dress was a bright red gown with beaded appliqués on the bodice. It had a tulle skirt that was scattered with more beading. **(Link on profile)**

"Bella you look…,"

"Gorgeous." Rosalie finished for me.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked. She twirled in front of the mirror trying to get a better look.

"Trust us Bells. You look great."

An hour later I was perched on Esme's bed with Rose and Bella next to me. Once we had convinced Bella to let me buy her the dress, we had called Esme and let her know we were on our way. Esme's room was packed with racks of dresses from many different designers. There was a whole corner of the room dedicated to shoes and another corner was dedicated to accessories. Basically, I was in heaven.

"Okay ladies, why don't you look through the dresses. Alice and I both need one still," Esme said. She was already sorting through a rack. I jumped off the bed and flung myself at the nearest rack. Rose and Bella laughed at my eagerness but soon found racks of their own to look through.

It didn't take Esme long to find the perfect dress. It was a simple blue strapless that flowed down to the floor. **(Link on profile)** It wasn't as much of a ball gown as Rosalie and Bella's dresses, but it was perfect for my mother.

"I believe this will do," She held the dress out in front of her.

"That dress is perfect for you," Bella piped up. Her head was poking out from the center of a rack, between two dresses. We all burst into laughter and I snapped a quick picture.

"Alice I found you the perfect dress." Bella said after a few minutes. I took the dress warily, expecting another ugly dress. Once I was zipped up though, I realized how wrong I was. The dress was a taffeta ball gown with beading and appliqué across the bust. It was a pale pink color and it went with my skin tone beautifully. **(Link on profile)** I twirled about the room as Esme applauded.

"That is a beautiful dress darling." She said. Rosalie and Bella nodded their heads in approval.

"I also found another dress for Bella." Rosalie said. She held up a rich blue classic ball gown. It had a wrapped empire waist with beads and crystals. **(Link on profile)**

"Try it on!" I snapped when I realized Bella hadn't put the dress on yet.

"I already have a dress." She replied.

Rosalie sighed in frustration, "This dress might be better though." Bella finally put the dress on and turned in a circle for us to see.

"Wow. That dress looks great. I can't decide which one I like better." Rosalie commented.

"Get both." I said. I had already moved onto shoes.

"Both! I only need one dress Alice."

I frowned, "Correct. But none of us know which one looks better so you'll decide which one you want to wear on the night of the ball." Bella didn't argue because she knew she couldn't win.

"Well, now that we all have dresses, why don't we pick out our masks?" Esme asked. She had opened her closet to reveal a table full of masquerade masks. I took a quick glance at my friends. They both look just as excited as I did. Bella's brown eyes show with so much happiness it took my breath away. Her happiness made me smile. All I wanted for her was for her to be happy. She had gone through a lot in her life. If only she would smile like this everyday.

**The longest chapter I've ever written:D**


	5. Forty minutes

**Chapter 4! I've never written from Emmet's pov, but there is a first time for everything! I watched the movie the other day and I watched all the special features. I love Kellan Lutz (he plays Emmet). :D**

Emmet's POV

"Shut up you bastard! It's called traffic! I can't move any faster!" I yelled to the car behind me.

"Excuse me?" She snapped.

"Oh sorry Bells. I'll never get used to New York traffic." I said, turning my attention back to the cell phone in my hand.

"Ya well Forks is a bit less crowded." Bella said. I could here the smirk in her voice.

"You don't say." I started scanning the street for some sort of parking spot.

"Damn Bells, where do I park?"

"There is a parking garage next to the building." I spotted the parking garage and made my way towards it.

"So we all found dresses. Alice and Rose picked out two dresses for me. They can't decide which one I should wear. "

I laughed. "You must have loved that."

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We got amazing masks too," she said.

"What do the dresses look like?" I asked.

"You'll have to wait and see, as ordered by Alice." She laughed.

"So where are you guys?" I asked as I parked the car.

"We are still at Esme's house. I think we're just going to get ready here. So I'll meet up with you later, probably right before we make our entrance." I could here the disgust in her voice.

"You'll do fine Bells. I'll hold onto you tight."

"You better. I can't believe we have to enter in front of everybody. I wish we could just walk in with all the other guests like we did last year." I wasn't nearly as nervous as Bella was. This year Esme decided to have all of her "favorite people", as she put it, make a grand entrance. We were going to walk down a huge staircase into the ballroom.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button. The elevator slowly rose.

"I'm in the elevator Bells. I'll call you if I have trouble finding you at the party."

"Love you."

"Back at you sis." I snapped the phone shut as the elevator doors opened. I made my way to our apartment door.

--------------------------------------------------

"Dude, that's not how you put on a tie," Jasper said as he made a grab for my tie.

"Yes it is! Bella taught me years ago!" I backed away from him.

"FIne! Have it your way, but you should at least iron your shirt." He turned and continued his assault on his own shirt. I had to laugh. The scene around us was just too funny. Clothing was lying over the back of the couch along with various ties. The beautiful living room had been turned into a mess in our hurry to get ready. It turned out that we depended more on our sisters then we thought.

"Come on dude, we need to be their in a half hour." Jasper grabbed his keys and jetted for the door.

"How long will it take us to get there?" Apparently we were taking his car so I left my keys on the couch.

"Forty minutes." He grinned and ran towards the elevator.

"Shit."


	6. Arrival

**I didn't go into detail about the masks because my Internet wasn't working when I wrote this, so I couldn't see what the masks I chose looked like (I couldn't quite remember either).**

**I thought of the song "Someone's watching over me" by Hilary Duff for this chapter. I thought it fit Bella's feelings about her mother. I might use the song again later. **

**Alice's POV**

"Just hold still Bella," I snapped. I knew Bella hated my makeovers, but this one was necessary; the ball was in an hour.

"You're hurting me!" She whined.

"Beauty hurts." Rose commented as she strode out of the bathroom. She looked amazing. The dress complemented her and her hair was pinned up.

"Beauty doesn't hurt for you two," Bella mumbled. I sighed; Bella had been making comments like that all day. She was gorgeous but I didn't know what to say to make her believe it.

"Come on Bells, I'll zip you up." I helped her into the dress. We had decided on the blue dress. Blue was Edward's favorite color, but Bella didn't know that. After she was zipped up she turned to face me. I heard Rose gasp behind me.

"Bella…you look amazing." I whispered. She studied my face to see if I was telling the truth. Bella was good at that. She could read your feelings in your eyes. Apparently she was satisfied because she sighed and said, "Thanks."

We all gazed at our reflections in the mirror. Rose fidgeted with her hair, but Bella stood absolutely still. That's when it hit me.

_I was skipping down that hallway when I heard crying from the bathroom. I stepped inside. The tiles were a faded pink and I followed them towards the sound. In the back corner a little girl was sitting. I had seen her in the halls before. Her name was Bella and she was in the fourth grade just like me. _

"_Bella are you okay?" I whispered. I crouched down beside her. She lifted her head up and I saw that she was holding a picture frame. She looked me in the eyes and shook her head._

"_What's wrong?" I asked. She handed me the picture frame. It held a picture of a beautiful woman in a dark blue ball gown. She had deep brown eyes just like Bella._

"_M-my mom….d-d-died." She started sobbing and my heart ached for her. I handed her back the picture of her mom._

"_I'm so sorry." I sat down next to her and took her hand. _

"_You know, she isn't gone Bella." I stated. She looked at me, the tears stopping momentarily._

"_Silly Bella. Your mom will never leave you. She'll always be with you. Right here," I tapped on her chest where her heart was. She smiled a little. I looked at her and it suddenly came to me._

"_You look just like her," I said. Her face lit up with happiness. That was what she loved to hear._

I knew then that, once again, there was really only one thing that would make Bella feel better. I turned to her and took her hand.

"You look like your mom Bella," I said.

She didn't look at me at first. She continued to stare at her reflection, but eventually she nodded.

"Thank you," She said. It was only two words, but there was so much meaning behind it. I knew she was thanking me for not only knowing what to do now, but also knowing what to do that day in the bathroom. Only Bella could make two words mean so much. I reached over and squeezed Bella's hand. I ran a hand through my hair and turned around towards Rosalie who was know setting her phone down by the coffee table. She looked up and smiled.

"Lets do this."

**Bella's POV**

As the chauffer parked the car the butterflies raged in my stomach. Why was I doing this? I was a complete klutz wearing heels. I opened the car door and the night air cleared my head. I was doing this for my friends and family, and I was doing this for me. Alice had known just what to say back at the apartment. I did look like my mother, and Emmet said I acted like her more and more each day. I just had to remember that she was with me and that she wouldn't let me fall. If I really did look like my mother…. then I really did look beautiful. It was like I could feel her approving my feelings.

_"You are so beautiful." She smiled. I reached up and traced her lips with my fingers. _

_"I wanna be as pretty as you mama," I replied. She smiled wider._

_"You are more beautiful then me honey."_

I felt a tear trail down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away. I could make it through tonight. I just had to remember that I was beautiful.

Alice led us to the double doors at the side of the building. We went up a flight of stairs and through some more doors before I realized where we were. We were "backstage". There was a small hallway that I assumed led to the grand staircase. The butterflies were back.

"Bella, don't worry. Here, put your mask on." Alice said. She handed me my mask and I saw that she had already put hers on. Alice looked like a fairy with her mask on. (**Masks on my home page).** Rosalie looked gorgeous. Pieces of her hair fell around her face as if to frame the mask she wore. I placed my own mask on my face. It was much simpler than Alice and Rose's masks, but it made me feel safer. I suddenly felt more confident when nobody could see my face.

"Bella! That is Bella right?" A voice boomed behind me. I turned as Emmet enveloped me wit his arms. "You look just like mom," he whispered. I nodded into his shoulder before pulling away.

"Don't you look handsome," I remarked. He turned around in a circle for me. It was a rare occasion to see Emmet so dressed up.

"You look dashing," Alice said. She was admiring Jasper. I stepped back and let Rose appraise Emmet. I pulled out m cell phone and snapped a picture. Rose had her hands around Emmet's tie and Alice was fixing Jasper's hair. For the first time I truly wished Edward would like me.

**So is the stuff about Bella's mom to cheesy? Let me know.**


	7. Introductions

"Alright guys it's show time! When I call your name get in line!"

Emmet's hand gripped tighter around his mouth as he tried to contain his laughter. Alice was also laughing by my side. Our attention was directed at a short, chubby, bald man. His name was Patrick, and he had been hired to run things backstage. He had a very flamboyant personality. Twice already he had tried to pinch Alice's cheeks. The funniest part was the way he talked in a singsong manner.

"Okayyy. Will the wonderful Esme and Carlisle please begin your decent?" He sang. I could here somebody announcing Esme and Carlisle's names to the people in the ballroom.

"This is ridiculous!" I whispered to Alice. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged.

"It's not that bad Bella. At least you won't fall," she smirked. She was right though. I would be walking with Emmet and I knew he wouldn't let me fall.

"Alice and Edward!" Patrick shrieked. I felt my heart beat pick up speed. My eyes darted around the group of people. I felt Alice's hand on my shoulder.

"You'll meet him later," she squeezed my shoulder and skipped off towards the stairs. The rest of us waited while more names were called. We didn't have to wait long after Rose and Jasper were called before I heard my own name.

"Emmet! Bella! Lets goooo," Patrick said. Emmet took my hand in his.

"Let's go slugger," he whispered. I nodded and followed him through the crowd. My nerves started to act up again, but Emmet squeezed my hand reassuringly.

We rounded the corner as the announcer said our names.

"Emmet and Bella Swan," he said. I took in the beautiful ballroom before me. The stairs before me were a deep golden color. They led down to a beautiful marble floor. The rest of the room was various shades of gold and tan. The ceiling had an enormous painting on it that I couldn't make out. My eyes automatically scanned the back wall.

"_Bella? Bella? Come on! That was your cue!" My teacher said as she pushed me towards the stage. With a final nudge I found myself under the bright lights. I slowly sauntered towards the other girl onstage. My puffy tutu sparkled under the lights. I opened my mouth to say my lines, when I saw my mom standing against the back wall. I heard a snap as a closed my mouth. She smiled at me and I felt my heart tug. I knew she shouldn't be here. She was too sick to be coming to my third grade play. She gave me a small nod and mouthed the words "I am so proud of you," to me. Needless to say, I performed my scene flawlessly. When the play was over my mom was gone. When I got home that night my mom explained that it would be our little secret. From then on she always snuck out of the house to see Emmet and I at various events. She was always at the back wall to tell me how proud she was._

The loud clapping snapped me out of my memories. I quickly focused my eyes back to the steps before me. I gripped Emmet's hand even tighter and heard him chuckle under his breath. I took each step carefully. When I reached the bottom I heard my mom whispering inside my head, "I am so proud of you." Confidence surged inside of me. I released Emmet's hand and strode forward with a purpose. Emmet smiled and followed me towards Alice. She wasn't hard to find, seeing as how she was basically jumping up and down.

"Bella! That looked so graceful!" Alice teased me. She gave me a quick hug before Esme enveloped me.

"You looked beautiful," she whispered. I beamed and told her just how great she looked too. I heard somebody clearing their throat behind Esme. I knew this was the moment of truth. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Bella, I would like you to meet my cousin Edward." With that Esme stepped aside revealing the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His hair was a bronze color and it looked like he had tried to comb it unsuccessfully. His eyes were emerald green and they captured my complete attention. A small crooked smile was playing on his lips.

"It's nice to finally meet you Edward," I managed to say. I reached out to shake his hand. When our skin touched I felt a current pass between us. He tensed up so I assumed he felt it to.

"Yes, a pleasure," he murmured. Alice stood to his side looking genuinely pleased.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to tell everybody darling?" Esme asked her son. I could have been mistaken, but it looked like she was trying to hide a frown.

"Oh yes." He replied, running a hand through his hair. I almost melted. "If you'll excuse me," he excused himself and walked away through the crowd. Alice immediately gave her aunt a questioning look, but Esme ignored it.

"Cute huh?" Rosalie whispered in my ear. I nodded my head vigorously and she laughed. Suddenly her expression turned angry.

"Rose? What's wrong?" I asked. She shook her head and motioned towards the crowd. I looked to where she had pointed and saw that Edward had returned. My heartbeat sped up again. However he had another person with him.

She was a tall Strawberry-blonde. She wore a dress that made her look like she owned the place. She was the first person I had ever seen that could have had a fair challenge with Rose in the looks department. I assumed this was why Rose was upset.

"Don't worry," I whispered to Rose, "you are much prettier than her." Rosalie smiled a little bit but quickly returned to frowning.

Edward surveyed us all before pulling the girl up beside him.

"Everybody, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend. Tanya, this is everybody."


	8. Bathroom Break

**Hahaha. I know you guys don't like Tanya. I promise she won't be around for too long, Alice would never allow that. Any song ideas? Come on, lay em on me**

**REVIEWS!!!!!!!!! Come on you guys! **

**Alice's POV**

Girlfriend.

Did he just say girlfriend!? You have got to be kidding me! How could he ruin my plans so easily!

I fought hard to keep a smile on my face as I shook Tanya's hand. I could see Rose trying to keep her cool, while Bella was completely shocked. Jasper, somehow oblivious to my plan, gave Edward a pat on the back. When he returned to my side, he put his arm around my neck. Normally I would have been thrilled, but instead I pinched him. I gave him a look that dared him to complain.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you all. I've heard so much about you," her voice was sickly sweet. Bella had started to relax, but she suddenly tensed up again. Maybe I wasn't the only one who thought Tanya was a fake.

"How long have you two been dating?" I cut to the chase. Edward looked down at Tanya with a huge grin on his face.

"Almost a year," he replied. I smirked when I heard Jasper gasp beside me.

"A year!?" Jasper asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you earlier, I just didn't want to jinks it." God, he sounded so corny.

"If you'll excuse me," Tanya removed herself from our little group as quickly as she had entered it. I decided to do the same.

"Rose. Bathroom. Now," I muttered to her under my breath.

"If you'll excuse us, we need to use the restroom," Rosalie announced. Bella took a step towards her but Rose shook her head and said, "Bella why don't you and Edward get to know each other? Alice and I will only take a moment." Bella glared at her, but Rose just smiled sweetly. Bella turned her attention on me; her gaze told me she didn't buy our story at all. I just shrugged and began to pull Rose through the crowd. If I my mood hadn't been so bad, I would have stopped to take the time to notice all of the beautiful dresses around me. I could hear Rosalie following behind me as I turned into the bathroom. I continued to check each of the stalls to make sure we were alone. Then I wheeled around to face Rosalie.

"Girlfriend?" I fumed, "How the fuck can he have a girlfriend Rosalie!?" She eyed me up and down critically before answering me.

"Alice you need to calm down." I gaped at her. I needed to calm down?

"No Rosalie, I don't. This was supposed to be perfect. Bella deserves Edward! They deserve each other. She has been through so much shit and I finally found a good guy for her! Edward doesn't even like blondes!" I glared at Rosalie when she cracked a smile at my last comment. I knew that Rosalie knew first hand that Edward didn't like blondes. When she first met him she had pursued him to no avail. I turned away from her and glanced at my reflection in the mirror.

"You don't understand Rose. Bella needs this," I whispered. Rosalie came up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I do understand Alice, I really do. But you can't just assume everything is going to work out just because you want it to." We were both silent for a moment. The only sound in the bathroom was a dripping faucet that helped calm my nerves.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

I exhaled loudly and faced Rosalie again.

"Ok Rose. What do we do?"


	9. Rosalie's Plan

Rosalie's POV

I watched Alice grow more and more impatient with every second that I didn't answer her. The problem was, this was Edward. Was I willing to potentially hurt somebody that made him happy just so that Bella could be happy? It didn't take long for me to realize that the answer was yes. A hundred times yes. This was who I was and Alice knew it. I put my friend's happiness before some stranger. Besides, I knew Edward. Edward didn't like blondes. But even more than that, he would love Bella.

"Ok… I got it," Alice perked up at my voice. I pulled her out of the bathroom. We peered around the people until we spotted our friends, just as we had left them.

"Ok, we need to get Bella and Edward alone together. If we could get Edward to ask her to dance…" I paused. How would we do that?

"Why don't we ask Emmet or Jasper to ask Tanya to dance? Then Edward and Bella would be left together," Alice volunteered.

"Jasper," I stated. She frowned. I held up my hand to show I wasn't done, "Jasper, because he doesn't like blondes," I said as I tried my hardest to avoid eye-contact. Luckily Alice didn't say anything. She just raised an eyebrow at me and nodded her head. I sighed, I didn't need Alice knowing how insecure Tanya made me feel. What about her had Edward liked? It wasn't that I still liked him, but it was a blow to myself esteem to see them together.

_He was gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. I watched as Edward and Jasper played basketball in the driveway. I had been playing with them earlier but had decided to quit and make some lemonade instead. I was coming out of the house when I heard them talking._

"_So what do you think about Rosalie? Are you going to ask her to the dance?" Jasper asked._

"_I think she is a great girl and all, but she just isn't my type. She is a little bit to…oh what's the word…I guess she can just be a bit full of herself. I love her though, but I just love her as a friend. Plus, I don't like blondes," he replied. They laughed a bit and then went back to basketball as they talked about whom Jasper should ask. _

I never told them I had over heard them, but I had never forgotten. Edward and I remained close though. I was even closer to him than Alice.

It didn't take us long to get back to our friends. I saw Alice sidle up to Jasper and begin to whisper into his ear. I don't know how she did it, how she got him to give up dancing with her, but Jasper began to nod as Tanya rejoined our group.

"What did I miss?" She asked. Edward slid his arm around her waist and Alice cringed. She elbowed Jasper in the side and he spoke up.

"Tanya, would you care to dance? I would love to get to know you better," he said. Edward beamed at his friend and I almost felt bad for him. He didn't know what our true intentions were.

Tanya's dress sparkled under the lights as she glided over to Jasper. She gracefully took his hand, which was followed by a quiet hiss from Alice. Jasper led Tanya towards the dance floor and Alice started to follow.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. She blinked, shook her head, and returned to my side. She smiled sheepishly. We watched Jasper and Tanya's retreating figures until they were completely immersed in the crowd of dancers.

"While they are dancing, I think I'll go mingle with the adults," Alice said. She removed herself quickly. Bella raised an eyebrow but made no move to object.

"So uh… Rosalie, would you like to dance?" Emmet asked shyly. I smiled in a way that I only did around him.

"Of course Emmet. Lead the way." I hooked my arm around his. It felt like I belonged there. In a way that was scary because I had never felt like that around a guy.

I turned my head just as Bella started to edge away from Edward. She looked quite uncomfortable.

"Edward, you should ask Bella to dance," Emmet piped up before I had the chance. I gave his arm a quick squeeze; he really was perfect.


	10. Wuthering Heights BPOV

**Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but……. Guess what!? There is a song to go along with it. The song is **

**When the day met the night by Panic! At the disco. **

When the moon fell in love with the sun

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

When the sun found the moon

She was drinking tea in a garden

Under the green umbrella trees

In the middle of summer

When the moon found the sun

He looked like he was barely hanging on

But her eyes saved his life

In the middle of summer (summer)

In the middle of summer

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer (summer)

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer, summer, summer, summer

All was golden when the day met the night

So he said, "Would it be all right

If we just sat and talked for a little while

If in exchange for your time

I give you this smile?"

So she said, "That's okay

As long as you can make a promise

Not to break my little heart

Or leave me all alone in the summer."

Well he was just hanging around

Then he fell in love

And he didn't know how

But he couldn't get out

Just hanging around

Then he fell in love

In the middle of summer

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer, summer, summer, summer

When the moon fell in love with the sun

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

- - - - - - - - - - -

Bella's POV

"Edward, you should ask Bella to dance," Emmet said as he turned his back towards us and strode away with Rosalie. I glared at her retreating figure before turning my attention back to the awkward situation at hand. No problem, I would just tell Alice to dance with Edward. When I looked away from Rosalie I realized Alice had disappeared.

"That sneaky little pixie," I muttered. It wasn't that I didn't want to dance with Edward, because I really did want to, but he was…he was….he was a fricking god! He was miles out of my league, not to mention he already had a beautiful girlfriend. It wasn't like he was even interested in me. He was probably figuring out how to politely remove himself from the situation.

I was interrupted by musical voice coming from next to me.

"Well Bella it seems as if our friends have left us in favor of the dance floor. Shall we join them?" I was momentarily stunned by his eyes, which were now boring into my own. Energy seemed to flow out of them into me.

I didn't trust my voice so I simply nodded and followed him into the crowd. He stopped abruptly and I nearly ran into him. He turned on his heels to face me.

"It seems our friends have hidden themselves, I guess it really is just you and me," he said. Did he think that was a bad thing? Of course he did, why would he want to spend his night dancing with someday like me? But then he gave me a jaw-dropping smile and I forgot what I was thinking about. He gingerly took my hand into his own and placed his other hand on my lower back. I avoided his eyes as we swayed to the music, but they were like magnets and I was eventually drawn in. The minute our eyes met I felt a current run through my body and it shocked every inch of my skin. Edward stiffened and I swore that he felt a shock too. We just gazed at each other until his eyes began to soften.

"So, is Bella short for Isabella?" he asked. It took me a minute to find my voice.

"Yes it is," I smiled. Then he muttered something under his breath, but before I could ask him what he said, he had asked another question.

"How did you meet Alice?" This time I stiffened under his questioning gaze.

"I…uh… I met her in fourth grade," I responded. There was no need to go into the specifics. I decided that now would be the perfect time to put the spotlight on him.

"When did you meet Jasper and Rosalie?" His face lit up.

"I met them in sixth grade. Jasper and I hit it off right away, but it wasn't until seventh grade that I finally decided to look past Rosalie's reputation." He smirked.

"Reputation?"

He laughed and I nearly fainted at the sound.

"Even in middle school Rosalie was known for her looks and her attitude. I was truly afraid that she would think I was just some jerk looking for a girlfriend." I smiled tightly. I knew all about Rosalie's insecurities. She was always afraid of being judged by her looks and she had never had a man look at her eyes before her breasts.

"So one day I just went up to her, looked her straight in the eyes and said 'I want to be your friend, please don't hurt me.'" I couldn't help but laugh at the image that put in my head. I guess some men did look Rosalie in the eyes and I just hoped Emmet was one of them.

He told me more stories about growing up with Rosalie and Jasper, and I shared my stories of my childhood with Alice. I told him about the time Alice used my favorite book as kindle for her Barbie's bonfire.

"What book did she use?" He asked between laughs.

"She used my only copy of Wuthering heights. Of course then I went out…"

"Wait," he said, interrupting me, "Did you say Wuthering heights?" I nodded and then he muttered something again.

"I'm not a huge fan of that book myself, but I am impressed that you read classics," he said.

"How can you not like Wuthering Heights? 'If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.'" I quoted. His smile grew brighter at my words.

"I won't argue with you there, the character's do have a way with words." We argued more about books and our other interests. I learned that Edward was studying medicine so that he could follow in his father's footsteps as a doctor. I learned that he loved to play piano, and that his favorite color was blue. And in the end I learned that I was falling for Edward Cullen.

The revelation hit me hard. This man was perfect in every definition of the word. He listened with interest to every word I said and he never insulted my thoughts or ideas. Then I remembered Tanya. I was about to bring her up when Edward spoke.

"Would you like to step outside? It seems that we haven't really been dancing." I too had noticed that. I had gotten so into our conversation that I hadn't event tried to do the waltz or whatever it was that this current song required.

"I'd love to," I murmured. I followed him out to a beautiful balcony set above a courtyard with a stone fountain. We watched the waterfall for a few minutes. The silence wasn't uncomfortable but I could tell that something was on Edward's mind because he kept glancing at me as if to assess me.

Finally he spoke up.

"I've been thinking about Wuthering heights, and that quote you said."

"'If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.'" I stated. He nodded before turning his body towards me. I let my eyes find his, I wasn't afraid to meet his gaze anymore.

"What do you think it means?" he whispered. I searched his face, looking for any sign of, well of anything but interest, but that was all I saw.

"I think it means that when you love somebody so thoroughly they become you, they become your life. And if everything else in the world turned on you but them, you would be ok. But if they were to turn on you, well then you yourself would cease to exist." He looked at me for a long while before he turned and leaned against the balcony railing. He ran a hand through his bronze hair absentmindedly.

"So you think you can define love by how much of yourself they are. That love is when somebody is more important that life itself?" He asked, but I had to strain to hear him.

"Yes," I whispered. He closed his eyes before he spoke again.

"I love Tanya, but I can't compare the way I feel about her to all the marvelous things you just said. I think I do love her, but maybe not in the unconditional way you just spoke of. Maybe someday I will look at her and think 'this woman is my life'. Because I think that the day that happens, with her or any other woman, than that's when I would know that we could make it through anything…" he trailed of his face turning red from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that. I just met you, I don't know why I'm telling you all this." I studied his expression and let the truth slip out before I could stop it.

"Because I'm listening, and because I care."

**I hoped you enjoyed that. The next chapter will be this chapter but from Edward's POV. Review!! REMEMBER: Each review earns you a quote from the next chapter!!**


	11. Wuthering Heights EPOV

******I changed the summary!!!******

**When the day met the night by Panic! At the disco. **

When the moon fell in love with the sun

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

When the sun found the moon

She was drinking tea in a garden

Under the green umbrella trees

In the middle of summer

When the moon found the sun

He looked like he was barely hanging on

But her eyes saved his life

In the middle of summer (summer)

In the middle of summer

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer (summer)

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer, summer, summer, summer

All was golden when the day met the night

So he said, "Would it be all right

If we just sat and talked for a little while

If in exchange for your time

I give you this smile?"

So she said, "That's okay

As long as you can make a promise

Not to break my little heart

Or leave me all alone in the summer."

Well he was just hanging around

Then he fell in love

And he didn't know how

But he couldn't get out

Just hanging around

Then he fell in love

In the middle of summer

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

Summer, summer, summer, summer

When the moon fell in love with the sun

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night

- - - - - - - - - - -

Edward's POV

"It seems our friends have hidden themselves, I guess it really is just you and me," I said. Bella's eyes grew wider with what looked like worry. Of course I didn't know what could be worrying her so much. I let my eyes search hers and suddenly her eyes tensed up. The next thing I knew I felt a current run through my body and it shocked every inch of my skin. I could've sworn Bella felt it too. The shock jolted me somewhere deep inside where I had never felt anything before. We just gazed at each other until I felt us both relaxing.

"So, is Bella short for Isabella?" I asked. She didn't answer right away; she just seemed surprised that I had spoken.

"Yes it is," She smiled.

"Beautiful in Italian, her name matches her perfectly,' I murmured. She looked at me, her eyes questioning, and I realized I had said that aloud.

"How did you meet Alice?" I asked quickly.

"I…uh… I met her in fourth grade," She responded. She seemed reluctant to say more.

"When did you meet Jasper and Rosalie?" My face lit up.

"I met them in sixth grade. Jasper and I hit it off right away, but it wasn't until seventh grade that I finally decided to look past Rosalie's reputation." I smirked.

"Reputation?"

I laughed and she smiled. Her smile seemed to radiate light.

"Even in middle school Rosalie was known for her looks and her attitude. I was truly afraid that she would think I was just some jerk looking for a girlfriend." She nodded absentmindedly.

"So one day I just went up to her, looked her straight in the eyes and said 'I want to be your friend, please don't hurt me.'" She laughed and her laugh sounded beautiful.

I told her more stories about growing up with Rosalie and Jasper, and she shared her stories of her childhood with Alice. Then she told me about the time Alice used her favorite book as kindle for her Barbie's bonfire.

"What book did she use?" I asked between laughs.

"She used my only copy of Wuthering heights. Of course then I went out…"

"Wait," I said, interrupting her, "Did you say Wuthering heights?" She nodded.

"She reads classics? The only thing Tanya ever reads are law books," I muttered. Then I froze. Had I just compared Bella to Tanya?

"I'm not a huge fan of that book myself, but I am impressed that you read classics," I said quickly.

"How can you not like Wuthering Heights? 'If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.'" she quoted. I smiled bigger at her words. Everything she said impressed me.

"I won't argue with you there, the character's do have a way with words." We argued more about books and our other interests. I learned that Bella was studying English so that she could some day be an English teacher. I learned that she loved to sit and read on Friday nights, and that her favorite color was green. And in the end I learned that Bella had awakened a part of me that I had never felt before.

The revelation hit me hard. This woman was making me feel things that Tanya never made me feel. She listened with interest to every word I said and she never mocked me for what I had to say. Tanya, Tanya, Tanya. I couldn't' forget about who I was currently seeing though.

"Would you like to step outside? It seems that we haven't really been dancing." I said quickly. I didn't want to have any more confusing thoughts.

"I'd love to," she murmured. She followed me out to a beautiful balcony set above a courtyard with a stone fountain. We watched the waterfall for a few minutes. The silence wasn't uncomfortable but there were so many things on my mind. What was Bella doing to me? I remembered the quote she had said and how when she said it I felt a pain deep inside me.

Finally I spoke up.

"I've been thinking about Wuthering heights, and that quote you said."

"'If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.'" She stated. I nodded before turning my body towards her. Her eyes found mine and a sense of calm surrounded me.

"What do you think it means?" I whispered. She searched my face as if she was looking for something.

"I think it means that when you love somebody so thoroughly they become you, they become your life. And if everything else in the world turned on you but them, you would be ok. But if they were to turn on you, well then you yourself would cease to exist." I looked at her for a long while before I turned and leaned against the balcony railing. I had been thinking similar thoughts when I had listened to her speak in the ballroom, thoughts that conflicted with my prior beliefs.

"So you think you can define love by how much of yourself they are. That love is when somebody is more important that life itself?" I whispered.

"Yes," she whispered back. I closed my eyes and let the cool summer breeze find me.

"I love Tanya, but I can't compare the way I feel about her to all the marvelous things you just said. I think I do love her, but maybe not in the unconditional way you just spoke of. Maybe someday I will look at her and think 'this woman is my life'. Because I think that the day that happens, with her or any other woman, than that's when I would know that we could make it through anything…" I trailed off, my face turning red from embarrassment. I hadn't meant to divulge so much of my feelings to her.

"I sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that. I just met you, I don't know why I'm telling you all this." She studied my expression and I was sure she was going to laugh in my face.

"Because I'm listening, and because I care." She said. I looked up at her and our eyes met again. Something inside me began to soar, something I had never felt before.

**I hoped you enjoyed that!**


	12. You've kept me waiting

**Hey guys! Two things I want to point out. There are some quotes from Eclipse in this chapter. Also, there is a bit of foreshadowing. Remember: if you leave a review you get a quote from a future chapter!**

**IMPORTANT FOR THE STORY:**

**This may only matter to some of you, but I made a mistake early on in the story with location. The girls went shopping for their dresses on Madison avenue. Alice's mom's old apartment is on Park Avenue, and the apartment that Jasper and Emmet got ready at is on 5th avenue. Jasper's mom rented it for the summer.**

**A POV**

"Alice darling!" A shrill voice behind me caused me to jump. I reluctantly turned around. There stood Miss Ivoric in all her glory, wearing an atrocious muddy colored gown. It did nothing but make her fake boobs look even faker. She was your stereotypical old lady; white hair and wrinkles. I sighed and wondered for the millionth time why I let Rosalie convince me Jasper should dance with Tanya. It had been over half an hour and I had yet to see any of my friends again.

"Oh Alice darling it is so good to see you!" she squealed. I plastered on my biggest smile as she pulled me in for a hug.

"It is so great to see you Miss Ivoric. That dress… uh… looks lovely on you," I barely got the last part out; it was just so hard for me to say.

"Oh you say the sweetest things! I just got another job on the ladies if you know what I mean." She raised her eyebrows suggestively. Wasn't this woman in her seventies!?

I listened as Miss Ivoric droned on and on about tea parties and what not. I was officially not enjoying this evening. I was wearing a beautiful gown but I had yet to show it off. That's when I felt two strong arms encircle my waist.

"Alice, I've been looking everywhere for you," Jasper said. We excused ourselves from the boob lady quickly. He pulled me through the crowd onto the dance floor.

"Oh thank god, what the hell took you so long?" I swatted him playfully. He frowned.

"Well I was dancing with Tanya remember?" I smirked.

"And how was that?" I asked. He shrugged.

"It was ok, once I realized you were doing it to get Bella and Edward together." This time he was the one to smirk.

"Well can you blame me!? Who does that woman think she is, coming into our lives…" Jasper placed a finger on my lips and pulled me into his arms.

"I couldn't care less about Tanya and Edward's relationship right now," he said. He didn't care?! He chuckled as he saw my face turn into a look of horror.

"Alice that's not what I mean. I don't care about them right now because I care about us. So could we please forget about everybody else so we can salvage what is left of this night?" He pleaded. I looked up into his eyes, eyes like tiny sapphires, and I saw so much adoration in them that I almost gasped. I hadn't had a man look at me with such a caring expression since... I gulped back the acid that was rising in the back of my throat. No. NO. I would not let that man ruin this night for me.

"Alice are you alright?" I smiled softly.

"I am now."

Jasper POV

She was gorgeous. She was everything I had been waiting for, and I was stuck dancing with Tanya.

"So my father decided that the internship would be perfect for me…" Tanya prattled on. Apparently Tanya was doing an internship at her father's Law Firm this summer, and I was tired of hearing about it. Tanya was that bad, it was just… she wasn't Alice. Tanya acted like she was thirty and not like she was still in college. She was pretty, I guess, in a really classic way. I had my sights set on a spunky girl who was somewhere within this crowd.

"So that's how I met Edward, we both go to Harvard." She was studying Law at Harvard, where Edward was also studying Medicine. How nice.

"He is a great guy," I volunteered. I didn't listen to her response, because something pink caught my eye. At this point I was ready to send Tanya back to Edward even if Bella was still with him.

"Tanya if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back to Alice. I'm sure you would like to get back to Edward." She nodded briskly and turned and strode away. I was after the pink dress before you could even blink.

I found her talking to some grotesque woman. I smiled as I walked up behind her. I wrapped my arms around her small frame, and rested my chin on her spiky hair.

"Alice, I've been looking everywhere for you," I said. She relaxed into my arms. We said our goodbyes to the old lady, but not before she could make googley eyes at me. Luckily Alice didn't notice.

"Oh thank god, what the hell took you so long?" She swatted me playfully. I frowned slightly.

"Well I was dancing with Tanya remember?" She smirked and her eyes lit up with amusement.

"And how was that?" She asked. I shrugged.

"It was ok, once I realized you were doing it to get Bella and Edward together." This time I was the one to smirk.

"Well can you blame me!? Who does that woman think she is, coming into our lives…" I placed a finger on her lips and pulled her into my arms.

"I couldn't care less about Tanya and Edward's relationship right now," I said. Alice looked horrified at my comment, which caused me to laugh.

"Alice that's not what I mean. I don't care about them right now because I care about us. So could we please forget about everybody else so we can salvage what is left of this night?" I pleaded. I was so tired of helping everybody else have a good night. Alice was the only girl I wanted to be with right now. I looked down into her eyes and I saw a mixture of emotion flash through them. She looked happy at first but then something like anger and fear flashed across her expression.

"Alice, are you alright?" I asked quietly. She smiled softly.

"I am now." She whispered as she rested her head against my shoulder. I sighed as we swayed to the music. Happiness was coursing through my veins. I played with a strand of her hair, noticing how much longer it had been last summer.

_Rosalie pulled me towards the girl that was apparently Edward's cousin. She had turned her back towards me before I could get a good look at her._

"_Hi. I'm Rosalie Hale and this is my twin brother Jasper. You're Edward's cousin Alice right?" Rose asked the girl._

_That's when she turned around with a huge smile on her face. I was speechless. "I am. It's so nice to finally meet you!" She squealed. She wrapped her arms around Rose for a hug. She laughed and hugged her back. I continued to gape._

"_Oh. This is Emmet and Bella Swan." Alice said. She gestured to the people beside her. I nodded at there existence before returning all my attention back to Alice. She was beautiful but in a unique way. Her hair hung straight around her face and the light hit it so that I could see how smooth it was. I yearned to reach out and touch her, hold her. Suddenly her eyes flicked to mine. She smiled and took a step closer to me. She stared deep into my eyes, as if she was relaying a silent message. Then she strode off into the crowd._

_I had no idea what to do. I vaguely heard Rosalie and Bella speaking before I decided to follow her. I pushed my way through the crowd before the glimmer of her blue dress caught my eye. She was standing amongst the people dancing, and she had her eyes closed. I approached her slowly, and she eventually opened her eyes and said, _

"_You've kept me waiting a long time." At first I thought she was angry, but then she smiled. I joined in. I ducked my head and said, _

"_I'm sorry ma'am." She laughed, a laugh like small bells, and took the hand that I held out for her._

"_I forgive you," she whispered, and I noticed that when she said that her face was completely serious._


	13. Coming to an end

Notice I have changed how I am spelling Emmett. I was spelling it with one "t" and I realize that was wrong. I'm not going to go back and change it though.

Song: He could be the one by Hannah Montana.

Lyrics:

Smooth talkin', so rockin' 

He's got everything that a girl's wantin' 

He's a cutie, he plays it groovy 

And I can't keep myself from doin' somethin' stupid  

Think I'm really fallin' for his smile 

Yeah, butterflies when he says my name 

Hey!  He's got somethin' special 

He's got somethin' special

 And when he's lookin' at me I wanna get all sentimental 

 He's got somethin' special 

He's got somethin' special

 I can hardly breathe somethin's tellin' me 

Tellin' me maybe he could be the one  

He could be the one, he could be the one 

He could be the one, he could be the one 

He could be the one  

He's lightnin', sparks are flyin'

 Everywhere I go he's always on my mind and 

I'm goin' crazy about him lately 

And I can't help myself from how my heart is racin'  

Think I'm really diggin' on his vibe 

He really blows me away, hey! 

And he's got a way of makin' me feel 

Like everything I do is perfectly fine 

The stars are aligned when I'm with him

 And I'm so into it! 

Rosalie's POV

Emmett pulled me into the crowd and wrapped his big arms around me. I melted into his chest before I could stop myself.

"You look beautiful Rosalie," he whispered into my neck. Shivers shot down my spine at his words. Part of me was thrilled at his statement, but the other part was discouraged. I had heard that too much; I had been judged by that.

"I wish I had a flower to give you, but I think the flower arrangements would prefer it if I didn't," he said. I giggled before I could stop myself. Why was my cool, careless façade always down around him?

"You don't look so bad yourself Swan," I murmured. He just chuckled and began to twirl me effortlessly across the dance floor.

We talked a bit between the dance steps. I already knew a lot about him from last year. I began to feel more and more comfortable in his presence.

I almost fell over when he stopped suddenly.

"Emmett what the…" I quickly shut up when I saw what he was pointing at.

The door leading out to the balcony was wide open and we could see the balcony from the dance floor. The sky was a dark blue, spotted with millions of stars. You could see the city laid out beyond the railing. There, amongst all this beauty, was something even more breathtaking:

Bella and Edward staring into each other's eyes.

I looked up at Emmett and he looked almost mad.

"Come on Emmett. Now is not the time to get all brotherly," I said, pulling him out of view of the door.

He nodded slowly before letting me lead him out of sight of the couple.

"I don't want her to get hurt Rose," he whispered.

"Oh Em, she won't. Edward would never…" he nodded briskly.

"…not on purpose he wouldn't. Bella is obviously falling for him and he has a girlfriend Rosalie! Bella gets hurt so easily. She has lost enough, I hate seeing her pine after something she can't have." His eyes darkened as his emotions grew stronger. I hesitantly reached a hand out to touch his face.

"Bella's mom…your mom…Bella never really recovered did she?" I whispered. I turned my head in the direction of my friends. I didn't know the details of Bella's mom's death. Alice had told me she had died when they were little and she warned me to never bring it up with Bella unless Bella mentioned it first.

"No, and I keep waiting for her to fall again. I know it's been years since our mother died…but somehow it still seems like just yesterday for Bella." I nodded in understanding.

"A couple years ago I got in a huge fight with my mom. I actually moved out of the house for a while and I moved in with a friend….when I look at my mom…it still feels like the fight was yesterday. All of the feelings come back to the surface and it's hard to remember why I forgave her…" I trailed off. I didn't normally share information about my personal life willingly with people. Something about Emmett made me…melt, for lack of a better word. I eyed him awkwardly but he just smiled.

"Thank you Rose… I get the feeling you don't usually share stuff about yourself. If it helps I'm not usually this serious around people either." It did help actually.

Emmett's POV

I had always gone out with the preppy, blonde cheerleader who was as a dumb as a doorknob. I had never had a girlfriend who really shared my interests instead of just thinking of me as some trophy. Rosalie was so different. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and she was smart, witty, and fun. I usually was considered the jock that was always goofing off. Rosalie made me feel like I truly was more than that.

I could see that she was slowly softening as we continued to dance. Alice had mentioned that Jasper had said that Rosalie had a really hard childhood. I guess she tended to act stuck up as a shield. Alice had warned me not to judge her by the first impression. Yet I never got any hard feelings from Rosalie. She seemed to be unable to hold onto her tough exterior around me. I could see her trying to hold on to it. She acted as if I was going to judge her on every thing she did.

"So how is school going?" She asked.

"It's amazing. I get to do what I love everyday," I said happily. I went to The Universal Technical Institute in Massachuesetts. I was studying mechanics.

"I recently won a contest. We had to, for all intents and purposes, re-build a car. I built mine the fastest so I got a pretty great prize," I said. She motioned with her hand for me to continue so I did.

"I may have…um…won a Jeep," I muttered. She laughed heartily,

"Emmett! That's amazing! Have you done any work on it?" We were quickly swallowed into a conversation about all the work I had done on my car's engine and the future plans I had for it. She explained that growing up her father had worked as a mechanic between jobs. Whenever her mother was away she would spend her time in the garage with her dad.

"Being in the garage was very different compared to my normal lifestyle…it was refreshing. I would love to see the work you have done on your jeep sometime. I've done a bit of work on my Chevrolet Camaro and I would love it if you checked it out." I beamed, Rosalie around cars sounded too good to be true.

"I would love to. So how is school for you?" I asked.

"it's great, STERN is a great school. I love New York and I love what I'm studying. Being a business major isn't as hands on as mechanics, but it's what I love." She smiled and flipped her hair over one shoulder. I asked her a few more questions about her classes before I realized how few people were left in the ballroom. The first person I saw was Esme. She was in the corner with the camera man smiling away. I turned to see what the man was photographing when I realized it was us. Alice and Jasper were in the far corner of the dance floor staring into each other's eyes. Edward and Bella had returned to the dance floor and stood near the center laughing and barely dancing. Rosalie and I had been swaying to the beat of a song that had ended a while ago.

"Look at us all," she whispered. I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Then I startled her by stepping away and yelling, "Party's over! Masks off!"


	14. The first mask gets removed

**Take a look at the new prologue!**

**It took me a long time to get myself to actually write the very short Edwards pov. Why? Edward is very confused right now. I promise once he has had more time to sort through his thoughts I will write more from his pov. So I hope you don't get too confused.**

**For Edward's pov: **

You got it, you got it

Some kind of magic

Hypnotic, hypnotic

You're leaving me breathless

- I caught myself by Paramore

**Edward's pov**

When Emmett ordered us to take our masks off, not only did it startle me, but it yanked me out of the fairytale world I had been in all night. The one where there was no need to feel guilty for dancing with Bella; the alternate reality that had come to be since meeting Bella. In this reality I wouldn't have felt the need to search for Tanya among the small clusters of people still spread out about the ballroom. In that universe I wouldn't have held back the urges I felt when Bella gently lifted her mask off of her face. I didn't expect the mask to hide so much. It barely hid half of her face, yet when she took it off I felt like she was peeling off a layer of herself. Nothing seemed more important in that moment than pulling off every layer until I reached her core. In that other universe I wouldn't have had to yank back my hand that had made its way to Bella's cheek. As I took it away I tried to put into my eyes the emotions I was feeling. I wanted her to understand how tied up I was. It was as if I had a mirror before me. I could see everything I wanted and couldn't have. In that alternate universe I so openly craved, I wouldn't feel bad for my obvious yearning.

I stepped away from Bella as I took off my own mask. I took deep breaths as I dispelled all thoughts of that other world from my mind. That was not a future I could have at this moment.

I cautiously looked up into Bella's warm eyes. Her hair flowed around her face as if to frame the confusion she was feeling. Her emotion was written clearly across her face. She unintentionally tilted her head to the side as she watched me. I took another step towards her. I could see in my periferal vision that everybody else was just taking their masks off. This moment had seemed so long I was sure that people would be staring. I noticed the shift in Bella's emotions as she stepped away. Somehow I could see another mask fitting into place. She put on a smile and with it she drove away all my confusing thoughts.

Good god.

Where did that all come from?

**Bella's POV**

The second Emmett's booming voice reached my ears, I could see Edward's emotions flashing across his face in overdrive. He scanned the room around us, and my heart sank when I realized he was most likely looking for Tanya. He returned his gaze to me and his eyes cut through me. It looked like his emotion were going to rip him apart. I had always been good at reading emotions, but at this point they were flashing across his face too quickly. I gently took my mask off, thinking that maybe the movement would drive away his trance. It did no such thing. I gasped when his hand reached out and cupped my cheek. He smiled slightly and his eyes seemed to become even greener if that was possible. I leaned into his hand for merely a second and then it was gone. Then his eyes once again bore into mine, but they had a much softer look. What was he trying to tell me? Edward slowly stepped away and gently removed his mask. Then it was my urn to be entranced. I hadn't thought it was possible for such a small mask to hide so much. His face was beautiful. His skin seemed to almost sparkle under the chandelier lights. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Rosalie and Emmett were walking over. I reluctantly took a big step away from Edward and put on a big smile.

**Jasper's POV**

I reluctantly tore my eyes away from Alice's and let my eyes wander around the room. It seemed that everybody had begun to break away from the little worlds they had gone into. I brought my attention back to the angel in front of me.

"I guess this is where the night ends…" she trailed off. Her lip slowly curled in as she bit down on it and the sides of her mouth curled up. I had never seen a smile like it.

"Ya," I whispered, "We better go join the others." I took her small hand in mine and walked over to Rosalie and Emmett who had just reached the spot where Bella and Edward were standing. As we approached I heard Emmett say,

"Well it's not my fault! I was focused on getting here in time!" Edward looked mildly amused while Bella almost looked ashamed. Rosalie looked indifferent, but I could see concern flashing in her eyes.

"What's the problem?" I asked. Emmett turned on me in a sudden swirl of motion.

"I left my suitcase in your room, and I don't feel like going back and getting it tonight, because I'm tired and hungry!" He pouted miserably. Rosalie ran a hand soothingly across his back, but she looked almost amused. Alice eyed Emmett carefully before her eyes lit up.

"Why don't you just leave it there?" She asked in evident excitement. We all turned to look at her; she seemed to be the only one who thought this made sense.

"Alice I want my pajamas! I do not want to deal with you or Bella catching me in all my glory if I need a midnight snack! And I refuse to wear your pajamas again…." He trailed off when he realized he had said too much. Rosalie full on smiled.

"Again?" she asked as she attempted to hold back her smirk. Alice sighed and came to Emmett's aid as he attempted to come up with an answer to Rosalie's question.

"Jeez Em, that's not what I meant." She looked around at all of our faces. I gave her an encouraging smile. "I was just thinking… well maybe you and Rosalie would like to switch. You know... Rose could stay in your room and you could stay in hers. That way us girls could be together in one apartment for the summer…"

"And the guys could have their own pad! That's a great idea Al!" Emmett interrupted. He smiled at me and gave my arm a light punch, "You and me dude!" I looked around the group at their different reactions. Edward quirked an eyebrow at me, and then leaned in to whisper something to Bella. She giggled quietly, but stopped when she saw me looking and then merely shrugged. Rosalie played with a piece of her hair and gave me a reasurring smile. I looked down at Alice and she was beaming.

"Sure, why the hell not?" I said.

"Well, now that everything is settled…can we go?" Rosalie asked, her mask dangling from the tips of her fingers. Everybody seemed to be taking in one last look at the room, before following Rose out the big oak doors.


	15. Sunshine in my eyes

**Rosalie's pov**

There were very few people gathered outside when we finally emerged from the building. We all automatically turned to the right to make our way back to our cars. I heard somebody clearing their throat behind us and turned only to see Edward still standing by the door.

"My car is the other way...so I guess I'll see you girls later...and I'll see you guys back at the apartment?," he said as he ran his hair through his already messy hair. Jasper nodded in his direction.

Alice quickly walked over to him and wrapped her small arms around his waist. She leaned up to whisper something in his ear, causing his head to jerk towards her. What did she say?

"I'll call you in the morning," she sang to him over her shoulder as she walked back to us. He nodded and his eyes roamed over us all as he gave us a wave goodbye. I didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on Bella, causing her to turn away.

We walked back to the car in silence, reaching our rides in mere minutes. We said simple goodbyes, exhaustion from the long night finally hitting us, but I felt suddenly awake when Emmett let his lips brush my hair. I drove us home since I was the one who knew city driving the best. The radio hummed quietly in the background while Alice and Bella stared out the windows as the other cars whipped by us. They were probably thinking about their night.

I smiled as I thought about mine. My lips involuntarily shot upward into a wide grin. Emmett was something different. The last time I had seen him I had just had a recent run in with an ex followed by another argument with my mother. I hadn't wanted to smile or be happy or even be there. Yet he made me forget, just as he had done tonight. I was starting to think that things with him could be simple... easy. That maybe he thought there was more to me the just a shiny surface. I knew that he had to be a good guy. He was related to Bella. But part of my mind wanted to fight off all those happy thoughts that said that a guy could look at me for who I was inside, it was ingrained in my system to think that way.

I was so enthralled with my thoughts that I nearly passed the apartment building and had to slam on the breaks quickly, jarring Alice and Bella out of their reminiscing.

I averted their eyes as I parked the car and quickly got out.

"Be careful of your dresses!" Alice chirped.

"Shit! I ripped mine!" Bella yelled.

"Are you serious!" Alice squeaked. I could hear the rustling of Bella's dress as Alice inspected it.

"No," Bella laughed as she made her way over to my side. I held up my hand so she could high five it.

"Oh you think you're just so funny," Alice muttered. I followed her into the building and we hit the up button for the elevator. When Alice had finally unlocked the door (after refusing help from Bella and I, Bella shuffled in and kicked off her heels with a victorious yelp. Alice scoffed at her and exited the kitchen, disappearing into the living room, and presumably heading to the room she and Bella were sharing. I followed her since I didn't have any stuff with me and would need something to sleep in.

Eventually we all gravitated towards the living room once we had pulled on our pajamas. Alice sprawled out on the couch, taking up half of it, so I took up refuge at the other end. Bella eyed our seating arrangement, rolled her eyes, grabbed the blanket that had been over the arm of the couch, and sat down on the floor. We formed a sort of triangle. None of us had thought to flick on the lights when we walked in so Alice turned on the small lamp by her head.

"My feet hurt..." Bella whined, breaking the silence. I looked over to see her rubbing the arch of her left foot.

"Suck it up," Alice quipped in a surprisingly loud voice considering that she looked ready to pass out. But of course Alice was never too tired for talking...

"So...you and Edward seemed to hit it off," Alice flipped onto her side so she was facing Bella and raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"I...uh..I guess. It's different though," she whispered as she softly fidgeted with her necklace, "we could never be like you and Jasper...or like you and Emmett," she nodded her head towards me. Like Emmett and me?

"What do you think is going on between me and Jasper? And Rosalie and Emmett for that matter?"

Bella pulled at a loose thread in the blanket. "Its just that you guys are all close already and..."

"Listen to me Bella," Alice said as she shot up into a sitting position, "I have no idea where you got this nonsense into your head, but it isn't true. I've hung out with Jasper a total of two times now! He didn't hang around too long after the ball last year and neither did we remember? So stop with this nonsense about all of us and our relationships or whatever it is you think we have!"

"It's still different Alice! He has a girlfriend. A girlfriend Alice! You don't seem to..."

"So what Bella! You are more of a woman than that fake bimbo will ever be! And Edward will see that eventually! And it's not as if Rose and I don't have our own obstacles to deal with," Alice's voice quivered at the end.

"Like what? What could possibly stop you two from being with any guy you want?"

Alice's face scrunched up in frustration. "Where did you get that from? Your ass? I have never had a boyfriend and I have never wanted one! I don't trust guys remember?" She whispered the last part and I almost didn't hear it. But apparently it had an affect on Bella because she pursed her lips but didn't respond. The heat of the conversation intrigued me and made me think that it was similar to ones they must have had before, but I decided not to pursue it.

"Listen guys, I think we are all a tad tired. So I'm going to bring this conversation to a close, but I just want to make sure I understand some things. One, we all suck when it comes to guys," I said. Bella looked shocked, and I couldn't tell if it was because she forgot I was in the room or because she didn't believe me. I assumed it was the latter.

"Ya Bella it's true. I could say I'm great with guys and shit but that would be crap. We all have our problems. Mine is that I don't let people get close to me because I'm afraid they only care about how I look, you are afraid to accept the fact that you are an amazing person, and Alice doesn't trust guys. Now we could go into detail about all these little things, or we could save that for another time. My vote is that me drop the serious talk and pop in some F.R.I.E.N.D.S and then pass out. Who's with me?"

"Me! But don't think that we won't be finishing this conversation soon," Alice warned before getting up and popping in a DVD. Bella quickly got up and dove for the couch. I laughed as she sprawled out like Alice had. Unlike Bella though, Alice didn't sit on the floor, she situated herself on top of Bella.

"Ahh! Alice. Can't. Breathe." Bella managed to get out from under Alice and the two of them found a way to share the space.

As the theme song began to play I noticed that Bella was fidgeting with her necklace again. Her necklace was a silver heart with an emerald in the center that hung delicately from a chain.

"Bells your necklace is gorgeous, but I need to know your secret! How did you get Alice to let you keep it on tonight?" I asked. Bella stiffened and Alice whipped her head towards me. Jesus what had I done now?

"It was my moms, I never take it off," she whispered.

"Oh...well its beautiful Bella," I said softly. She smiled slightly and then turned her attention back to the TV. And then I noticed that Alice was fidgeting with jewelry of her own. A pink bracelet with the words, "I do believe in fairies," inscribed on a silver plaque.

"What about you Alice? What's the story behind your bracelet?"

"My dad gave it to me when I was little," she said without taking her eyes off the TV.

"Oh. Well I guess I have a knack for asking the wrong questions..." They both laughed.

It wasn't long before the two of them had fallen asleep. They looked so peaceful. I grabbed the blanket and draped it over them.

**Bella's pov**

I woke up to the sun shining straight into my eyes because none of us had closed the shades last night. My head was resting on Alice's back and her head was smooshed into the corner of the couch. Rosalie was laying at the other end of the couch but her long legs reached mine and were currently tangled in a pile. I quietly extracted myself and attempted to turn right towards my room, but the blanket had caught on my leg and nearly knocked over the flower vase on the coffee table. I quickly untangled it and headed towards my room. Alice and I were sharing the second room because it was the most girly of the two.

The alarm clock on the night table read 8am. Alice would be up in an hour or so because she usually didn't sleep late but I figured Rose would sleep longer than that. My stomache growled and I remembered that there was no food in this apartment. Damn. I guess I should probably go shopping. I slipped on a pair of light jeans that had the bottoms already rolled up (I had worn them yesterday), grabbed my Ciao tank, a sweater, and my sunglasses and headed towards the kitchen. My purse was on the counter so I slung it over my shoulder, after leaving a note for Rose and Alice, slid on my sandals and headed out the door.

**Alice's pov**

I woke up to darkness. What the hell? I lifted my head up in confusion only to be blinded by sunlight. Darkness! I choose darkness! I shoved my head back into what I now realized was the crook of the couch and shut my eyes. Damn, now I'm wide awake. I peeled myself off the couch and noticed that Bella was gone and Rose had curled into a tiny ball at the end of the couch. My mouth opened to let out a cat-like yawn as I padded into the kitchen. I noticed a note from Bella:

Al and Rose,

I've gone to the store Esme mentioned to get us some food. Try and make do until I get back and by make do I don't mean order in take out that we would never be able to finsih because I so don't feel like chinese food for breakfast (Al). I have my phone, text me if there is anything specific you want.

-Bella

Funny Bella, real funny. That had happen once and I hadn't had much for dinner the night before. I grabbed my phone off the counter and hopped onto one of the counter chairs.

New text message from Emmett:

Hey Al I sent this message to Bella too, but I'm about to go hit the gym downstairs with Jasper and Edward went to get groceries. He said that he would drop Rosalie's stuff off with the doorman.

Edward was getting groceries huh? Time to start meddling. I clicked Edward's number and typed out a quick message to him.

Hey Emmett said you were out getting groceries. Would you mind going to Berkley's a couple blocks from us? Bella won't answer her phone and I'm worried that she got lost. Thanks.

"You know it wouldn't have been all that hard for you to close the god damn shades when you woke up," Rosalie grumbled as she walked into the room. She wiped at her eyes before pulling her hair up into a bun.

"Morning sunshine," I said in my best sing-song voice. She stuck her tongue out at me and pulled Bella's note towards her. I decided now was a good time to get dressed.

"Don't judge me by that note Rose," I quipped over my shoulder. I was distracted from her laughter when my phone buzzed.

New text message from Edward:

Sure thing.

He was always one of few words. My phone buzzed again.

New text message from Bella

Pop-tarts: Strawberry or Blueberry?

I replied informing her that the correct choice was always strawberry.

I sighed and closed my phone. Last night's conversation had been all over the place. Bella and I were so close that sometimes we forgot that we needed to talk about things instead of just assuming we knew what the other person would say. College had been going great for Bella. It had been going well for me too but it wasn't my first choice. However I was with Bella and that was what mattered to me. College had seemed to lessen some of Bella's stress and worries so I almost for got they were there. One of these days I would sit down with Bella and Rose and we would spill out all our insecurities. This summer was going to be life changing, I could feel it. We would need each other if we wanted to move on, and the only way to do that would be to be honest with each other.

I opened the door to my room and made my way over to the bed to sit down. The room was pretty simple. There was a closet directly to the right of the door that looked like it would be able to fit a decent amount of stuff, plus there was a dresser on the other side of the door as well. The bed was big enough to fit both Bella and I. It had a pretty comforter that I couldn't wait to sleep in. I heard the bedroom door creak open followed by a still tired Rosalie muttering something about coffee. She sat on the bed beside me.

"I have no clothing Aliceeee," she whined.

"Oh! Emmett said that Edward was going to drop your stuff off." She snapped her head up and smiled. Whether it was at the prospect of having her stuff or Emmett's name I wasn't sure.

"I'll go grab it in a minute. So what's the plan for today? Are we going to hang out with them? I'm pretty tired so if we do something let's keep it low key." I nodded in agreement and then her words sunk in and I was hit with inspiration.

"I got it!" She raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

"Care to share?"

"Nope! Go get your stuff." I pulled her off the bed and pushed her out of the room.

"Ok ok I get it. Right well I'm going to go grab my stuff and then I'm going to head to a nail salon I saw down the street. My toes are gross," She said. I had stopped listening to her though because my mind had gone into full plan mode. I knew exactly what we would be doing tonight an there was only one way to do it: Alice style.

**Links to apartments are on my profile.**


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